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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27105262">Never Letting Go</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/vacainfinity/pseuds/vacainfinity'>vacainfinity</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Drowning, F/M, Forgiveness, Guns, HELP idk what tags to use, M/M, Occasional swearing, Threatening, doctor eggman being forced to be a medical doctor, idk - Freeform, kidnapping isn’t sexy don’t do it /srs, knife, mostly just shadow whipping out a bunch of weapons, possessive amy kinda, rouge actually being helpful wow, shadow being a dick and destroying windows, shadow redemption, sonic gets kidnapped wooooo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:09:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,040</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27105262</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/vacainfinity/pseuds/vacainfinity</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>She looked up at him with a twinkle in her eye and a fond smile. “Looks like our love was meant to be, huh?”</p><p>Sonic’s heart twanged in guilt. “I-I guess so,” he laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.</p><p>---</p><p>While Sonic goes on a [forced] date with Amy at a spring festival, he coincidentally comes across Shadow, who ends up saving their lives from the evil hands of Eggman. The very same day, the dark hedgehog crashes into their home window and kidnaps Sonic right in front of his friends.</p><p>Turns out kidnapping your enemy isn't such a great idea, especially when he unknowingly has the hots for you.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amy Rose &amp; Sonic the Hedgehog, Amy Rose/Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog &amp; Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog/Sonic the Hedgehog</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>62</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Downward Spiral of Chaos That Is Shadow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>"Never Letting Go" is cross-posted on both Wattpad and AO3 under the same name.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a nice and sunny day. The city streets were bustling with energy as Sonic and Amy strolled by, hand in hand. Above them were bright and colorful waving banners that welcomed visitors to the spring festival.</p>
<p>The couple took a moment to stop at a local selling stand and Sonic handed a few coins to the seller. He thanked the seller as he was given a heaping load of pastel cotton candy in return and he gently offered it to Amy. He watched the amazement in his girlfriend’s eyes as she took it.</p>
<p>“Wow!” she gasped, enthusiastically taking a bite. “This cotton candy has our colors: pink and blue!” She looked up at him with a twinkle in her eye and a fond smile. “Looks like our love was meant to be, huh?”</p>
<p>Sonic’s heart twanged in guilt. “I-I guess so,” he laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.</p>
<p>The peaceful atmosphere of the spring festival was cut short by screams of fear erupting from behind him. Out of instinct, he snatched Amy and dove to take shelter in the shadows of an alleyway between city buildings, causing his girlfriend to drop her cotton candy. He whipped around to see a huge crowd parting down the middle to reveal two familiar figures running as fast as physics could allow them to.</p>
<p>“SHAAAAAAAAAAADOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!” screamed Dr. Eggman, zooming by on a hovering mechanism. “You emo hedgehog! Give me back my Chaos Emeralds!”</p>
<p>Shadow was sprinting away from Eggman faster than the speed of sound, barely able to hold three presumably stolen emeralds in his arms without dropping them. As he raced by, he made eye contact with Sonic for a split second and almost dropped the emeralds. Chills ran down the blue hedgehog’s very spine, before Shadow sped away along with Eggman who was right on his tail.</p>
<p>Amy blinked, peeking out from behind Sonic’s shoulder in the direction of Eggman and Shadow’s high speed chase. “What was that?”</p>
<p>Sonic leaned outward and narrowed his eyes, trying to spot them from a distance. “I have no clue. But they're probably already long gone by now, so I guess it should be safe."</p>
<p>The two hedgehogs reluctantly returned to the streets and decided to take a little break at the local park nearby. Sonic collapsed on a bench and Amy took a seat beside him.</p>
<p>"Ohoho, am I, perhaps, interrupting your pathetic little date?"</p>
<p>Sonic lifted his head to look at Eggman on his hovering machine thing. An evil smile stretched across the gremlin's face.</p>
<p>"Go away, Eggman," he said, completely unfazed. "I don't have any Chaos Emeralds today. Come back tomorrow. Or next year. Or never. Never would be nice, though."</p>
<p>Before Eggman could even react, he was kicked right in the side of his face. The doctor crashed to the ground and his floating machine exploded into about a million different mechanical parts. </p>
<p>Shadow stood above the pile of machine parts, smirking. </p>
<p>“You — you HEDGEHOG!” Eggman wailed pathetically. “I spent years working to build that thing!”</p>
<p>“You should’ve left this place instead of pointlessly bothering these poor people, even if they are annoying.”</p>
<p>Sonic scoffed. “Annoying? How <i>dare</i>—“</p>
<p>Shadow’s eyes flashed dangerously. “I wasn't talking to you.”</p>
<p>Sonic shut up right away.</p>
<p>The dark hedgehog turned to face Eggman again, who was still cowering on his knees. “Now leave, before I have to use these Chaos Emeralds on you.”</p>
<p>Eggman, knowing how powerful those emeralds could be, especially if three were used at the same time, smartly chose to make a run for it.</p>
<p>“Um, thanks for saving us back there …?” Amy hesitantly spoke up.</p>
<p>Shadow turned his back on the couple and walked away. “I’m the Ultimate Lifeform. I don’t save people.” The dark hedgehog turned his head to look them directly in the eyes. “Now <i>get out</i>.”</p>
<p>Sonic and Amy felt chills running down their spines at Shadow’s words, and they turned to each other to exchange looks. They mutually decided to obey Shadow’s words and leave to go home.</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>Sonic swung the door open to his little house hut by a forest near the city. “We’re home, guys!” he announced, stretching his arms up in relief. He pressed himself against the doorway to allow Amy to pass by him so she could return to her room. He was first greeted by Knuckles, who grunted from behind his room door. Typical.</p>
<p>Tails poked his head out from the garage, his cheek fur smeared with oil. He’d obviously been working on some new robot mechanic or something of the like. “Welcome back, Sonic! How was your date with Amy?”</p>
<p>He smiled. It was good to be home after the incident in the city.</p>
<p>“Well, it wasn’t too bad,” he responded, shrugging. “It was a little bit cut short by—”</p>
<p>Sonic heard a gunshot followed by the piercing sound of the shattering of a glass window next to him. He shielded his face from the flying bits of glass and suddenly felt something cold and sharp being pressed against his neck.</p>
<p>“What the—?!”</p>
<p>“Everyone give me all of your Chaos Emeralds right now or I’m cutting his throat,” Shadow threatened, slightly pushing the knife harder against the blue-hedgehog’s neck.</p>
<p>Shadow never bluffed.</p>
<p>Sonic spluttered, “Wait, wh— Did you follow us here?!”</p>
<p>Tails slowly dropped his equipment and entered the living room. “Shadow, please put the knife down. Let’s all just peacefully talk this out.”</p>
<p>Knuckles kicked his door down, startling everyone but Shadow and making them jump. “Who broke our windows?” he roared, clenching his fists. “I’ll have you know that glass windows are very expen—”</p>
<p>He spotted Shadow with a knife to Sonic’s throat and started sweating.</p>
<p>“—sive?”</p>
<p>Shadow removed the knife from Sonic’s neck and pointed it at Knuckles.</p>
<p>“Chaos Emeralds,” the dark hedgehog repeated firmly, eyes narrowed. “Hand them over.”</p>
<p>Tails raised his arms up and shook his head in defeat. “We … don't have any.”</p>
<p>Shadow swung Sonic over his shoulder as if he weighed absolutely nothing. “I’ll be taking him, then.” </p>
<p>“Wha— Hey!” Sonic protested, beating his fists against the dark hedgehog’s back. “Let me down!”</p>
<p>Ignoring Sonic, he jumped out of the recently obliterated window, leaving Tails, Knuckles, and Amy to worry.</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>Sonic slowly opened his eyes to find himself in an unfamiliar room. The walls and floor were painted plain white; his eyes started to water the more he looked.</p>
<p>To the side, he noticed Shadow who was not too far away, examining his three Chaos Emeralds sitting on a wooden table.</p>
<p>“Where am I?” he slurred from sleepiness. He tried to get up, but he was held down by ropes. Shadow must have tied him to a chair, probably so that he couldn’t escape.</p>
<p>Shadow, not looking up from his emeralds, answered, “My secret base.”</p>
<p>“You … Why do you even have a secret base anyway? I mean, I don’t really know you, but I don’t think you need one.” </p>
<p>Sonic shuffled in his chair, struggling to see the emeralds that Shadow was examining. “Are those Chaos Emeralds?”</p>
<p>Shadow sighed, slowly starting to get irritated. “Yes.”</p>
<p>“You just stole those today, right? Eggman had them, but you took them.”</p>
<p>The dark hedgehog pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes.”</p>
<p>Sonic frowned, genuinely curious. “Why did you steal them?” he asked. “Aren’t you on Eggman’s side?”</p>
<p>Shadow suddenly whipped around and glared at Sonic with flashing red eyes of anger. “Shut it with your questions!” the dark hedgehog snapped. “I’m on neither side.”</p>
<p>He turned back to the table and reached for one of the freshly stolen Chaos Emeralds from this morning, holding it up to the small light attached to the low ceiling. The emerald reflected the light, casting rainbow lights all around the room. Sonic gasped, mesmerized.</p>
<p>The door to the room burst open and a strange bat girl waltzed in with the confidence of a fashion model.</p>
<p>“Hey, Shadow,” she greeted nonchalantly, closing the door behind her. She noticed Sonic and gestured towards him with raised eyebrows, seeing that he was tied up with ropes to a chair. “Ah, is this your new boyfriend? You two look a little busy; maybe I should come back later -”</p>
<p>“Rouge,” Shadow warned, causing the bat to laugh. He carefully set the emerald back down on his table.</p>
<p>“Boyfriend?” Sonic cried, disgusted. “Never! Shadow’s too mean!” He kicked his legs up and ended up tipping his chair over, sending him slamming to the ground.</p>
<p>Shadow’s gaze hardened. “Rouge, what are you doing here?” he growled through gritted teeth, walking over and propping Sonic’s chair back up.</p>
<p>Rouge the bat smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “Oh, nothing. I just wanted to see how you were doing, but …” She sent a not-very-subtle glance toward Sonic. “I see you’re doing <i>very</i> well, so I’ll be taking my leave now.”</p>
<p>She turned to open the door, but before she could, the door slammed open on her face, making her fall back in surprise. In the doorway stood a very angry Tails and Knuckles.</p>
<p>“Tails! Knuckles!” Sonic cried, relieved. “You guys came for me! How did you even find me?”</p>
<p>“Let Sonic go, you rat!” yelled Knuckles, pointing an accusing finger at Shadow. He noticed Rouge on the floor. “Oh, hey, there.”</p>
<p>In return, Shadow grabbed a gun on the table and pointed it at them. Tails and Knuckles jumped and immediately held their hands up in surrender. He motioned with his gun for them to move away from the doorway and they reluctantly complied.</p>
<p>“Where’s … Where’s Amy?” Sonic asked.</p>
<p>“Here I am!” Literally on cue, Amy poked her head in from the doorway before walking in with her special giant hammer behind her back. She frowned at Shadow.  “You know, it's not very nice of you to kidnap my boyfriend and hold him ransom for Chaos Emeralds. I thought you had good morals.”</p>
<p>Shadow growled when he noticed the excessive amount of people in the room. “Nobody move.” He continued pointing his gun at Sonic’s friends and grabbed Sonic’s chair, beginning to drag it out through the doorway.</p>
<p>“Hey!” Sonic protested. “What are you—?”</p>
<p>“We’re leaving,” Shadow cut him off. He glared at Tails and Knuckles, who still had their hands up. “You pathetic brats better not follow us.”</p>
<p>Against Sonic’s protests, the dark hedgehog kept dragging his chair along. They exited Shadow's secret base and Sonic learned that the secret base was surprisingly close to his own house since both buildings were in the same forest. Shadow stopped when they reached a small clearing away from the trees where he could rest his arms for a while.</p>
<p>Sonic heard the rustling of tree branches and looked up to see Dr. Eggman and his robot minions in the sky. Were they waiting for them the whole time?!</p>
<p>Eggman cackled down at them. “Hahaha! I’ve found you, Sonic! And it looks like you brought a little surprise for me, too,” he added giddily, referring to Shadow.</p>
<p>Eggman's robot creations began to gather around the two hedgehogs, trapping them before they could have the chance to escape. Shadow cursed under his breath as a robot grabbed his shoulders and he smacked it away.</p>
<p>"Shadow, what are you doing?! Why aren't you running away?"</p>
<p>"I'm not leaving you here. You're stuck in a chair and you're vulnerable." </p>
<p><i>Wow.</i> Sonic blinked. He didn't think Shadow would actually care about anyone, ever.</p>
<p>"Uh, thanks -"</p>
<p>"Also, I need to use you to help me find Chaos Emeralds, and I can't do that if Eggman takes you first," Shadow interrupted, kicking a robot in the side.</p>
<p>For some reason, Sonic's heart sank. "Oh."</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>"Alright, I'll ask you one last time: WHERE DID YOU HIDE THE CHAOS EMERALDS?" Dr. Eggman screamed, stomping his foot like a child throwing a tantrum.</p>
<p>Sonic tightened his grip around the prison bars standing between Eggman and death itself. "Wouldn't you like to know, you egg!" he cackled, spitting at him.</p>
<p>The evil man's face turned beet red. "Yes I do; THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING!"</p>
<p>He whipped around to face Shadow, who was in a separate prison cell directly across from Sonic. His voice dropped by three octaves, making him sound scarier, although he still wasn't very scary. "Where. Are. The. Chaos Emeralds."</p>
<p>"Sorry, Eggman, but as the Ultimate Lifeform, I am entitled to not disclose any information about the Chaos Emeralds. A weakling twink like you doesn't deserve to be in possession of such items." Shadow had a subtle smirk on his face with crossed arms over his chest. Sonic could see that he was clearly having fun teasing Eggman. </p>
<p>Eggman threw his arms up in defeat, exasperated. "Fine, you hedgehogs! You two will just have to rot here forever until one of you tells me exactly where those three Chaos Emeralds that you stole from me are! But until you do … ROBOTS!" he commanded. "SCOUR THE LAND! FIND THOSE CHAOS EMERALDS!" He turned on his heel and stomped out of the mini prison, muttering under his breath about just how much he hated hedgehogs.</p>
<p>Sonic fell to the cemented flooring in a giggling fit. "That was fun."</p>
<p>The blue hedgehog decided to let his thoughts wander freely. He started thinking about this morning, when he was on his little date with Amy.</p>
<p>Amy Rose.</p>
<p>He frowned, remembering his history with her. He wasn't too sure how they met, but when they did, Amy immediately declared herself as Sonic's girlfriend. The blue hedgehog didn’t really have much of a choice because Amy was clinging to him every moment of her waking day. He’d gone to Knuckles for help, but the red echidna only said that he should officially date Amy since she had been pursuing him for so long. Sonic felt bad for Amy, so he agreed.</p>
<p>Basically, he was peer-pressured into dating Amy, and she had no idea. She thought Sonic’s “feelings” for her were real.</p>
<p>But they weren’t. </p>
<p>And they never were.</p>
<p>Sonic pushed himself up from the cold floor into a sitting position. He glanced at Shadow, who seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, staring blankly at the wall behind Sonic. The blue hedgehog wondered what was on his mind.</p>
<p>“Shadow?”</p>
<p>The word slipped from Sonic’s mouth and he threw a gloved hand to cover it, but it was too late. The dark hedgehog snapped back to reality and his red eyes met Sonic’s wide green eyes.</p>
<p>“Hm?”</p>
<p>“Uh …” Oh, no. Sonic grew panicked, and his mind started racing to find something, anything to say. Finally, he found something and blurted it out.</p>
<p>“Have … Have you ever been in love with someone?”</p>
<p>Sonic cringed at his own words and his stomach crashed to the floor as Shadow looked away and he started sweating nervously. Of all the things he could’ve asked! Why that? It was such a personal and sensitive question, and he knew little to nothing about Shadow or his past. They weren’t even really friends or anything!</p>
<p>“Well, uh, I have,” Sonic broke in, hoping to save Shadow from having to answer such a ridiculous question. “I mean, of course I have, I’m dating Amy, but, well, I don't really know if I actually love … her …”</p>
<p>He trailed off as he realized what he just said. Oh, no. I said too much. He watched Shadow slightly perk up, paying attention more closely to Sonic’s words. </p>
<p>“I mean, uh, I was kinda forced into dating her …?” Sonic forcibly continued. “She kept persisting and saying that she was my girlfriend, and I felt bad since she was trying so hard, so I told her that I liked her, even though I didn’t.”</p>
<p>He trailed off, not wanting to say any more than he had to. </p>
<p>“I have.”</p>
<p>Sonic jumped at Shadow’s answer. He didn’t expect him to respond to the question at all, let alone say yes. The dark hedgehog looked like he wanted to say more, so he stayed quiet so that he wouldn’t accidentally interrupt him.</p>
<p>“Her name was Maria,” he spoke up quietly, “but … she was killed a long time ago.”</p>
<p>Sonic wanted to die; he felt so horrible. Way to go, Sonic. You really messed up. Why that question?!</p>
<p>The air was filled with awkward silence. Sonic wished he never said anything, although he knew wishing wouldn’t fix the situation that he planted poor Shadow in. </p>
<p>Shadow pushed himself off the floor and quickly stood up, startling Sonic.</p>
<p><i>Oh, no. I made him upset, didn’t I?</i> he thought dreadfully.</p>
<p>“Shadow? Uh, whatcha doing?” he asked nervously.</p>
<p>The dark hedgehog looked up at the ceiling. “Breaking us out.”</p>
<p>“Huh? How are you gonna do that?”</p>
<p>Shadow pointed up. “Eggman somehow never noticed that there are vents up here. We can easily climb through them and escape that way.”</p>
<p>Sonic grinned, glad that the awkward situation was gone. “Eggman sure is an egghead. What are you waiting for, then, huh? Let’s bust outta here!”</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>“Eggman’s base is on an island? How are we supposed to get back to the mainland?”</p>
<p>Sonic and Shadow stood outside the base, pressed against the walls to avoid security robots detecting them. They overlooked the ocean below that seemed to go on for miles and miles.</p>
<p>“There’s no way I can go anywhere near the water,” Sonic gasped.</p>
<p>Shadow turned to look at him, frowning slightly. “What? Why not?”</p>
<p>Sonic squeezed his eyes shut. Water was one of his only weaknesses, and he barely knew who Shadow really was and what kind of person he was. Should he trust Shadow with such crucial information? What if the dark hedgehog decided to turn against him?</p>
<p>He could just imagine Shadow casually tossing him into water and walking away, letting him slowly drown ...</p>
<p>“Alright, look.” Sonic turned to look Shadow in the eyes: a pair of green eyes to a pair of red eyes. </p>
<p>Every part of his insides was screaming for him to stop. <i>This is a really bad idea! Why are you doing this?! You still don’t know if Shadow can be trusted! He could use this information against you at any time!</i></p>
<p>A lump formed in Sonic’s throat and he gulped it down nervously. Hopefully Shadow will react well ...</p>
<p>“I can’t swim. I’m — I’m afraid of water.”</p>
<p>He saw Shadow’s eyes widen slightly, as if the dark hedgehog was genuinely shocked. A good reaction, maybe?</p>
<p>Shadow broke eye contact to scan the sky and he sighed. “If you can’t swim, then we’ll need to think of another way to return to the mainland. Maybe we can take a robot that’s able to fly and use that.”</p>
<p>Sonic let out a sigh of relief that he didn’t realize he was holding. At least Shadow was a little considerate of his fears.</p>
<p>He searched the sky as well and noticed a robot aimlessly floating in the distance. He grabbed Shadow’s shoulder and pointed at it. “There.”</p>
<p>“Great. Now we’ll need to get its attention.”</p>
<p>Sonic cupped his mouth with his hands. “HEY!” he yelled, hoping the strong ocean winds wouldn’t stop his voice from reaching the robot. He started waving his arms wildly and jumping up and down. “We’re over here! Come and get us, you stupid robot!”</p>
<p>The robot didn’t seem to notice him. In fact, it was flying away from them.</p>
<p>He lowered his arms in defeat. “So much for Dr. Eggman’s ‘advanced’ security technology, huh?” he commented under his breath, sighing.</p>
<p>Shadow groaned. Not wanting to waste any more time, he pulled out his gun and fired at the floating robot, causing Sonic to jump at how fluid the dark hedgehog’s motions were, as if he’d done the same thing many times before.</p>
<p>"Woah! Were you carrying that with you the whole time?"</p>
<p>Shadow lowered his gun and frowned at him as if the answer was obvious. "Yes?"</p>
<p>Sonic turned back towards the sky and widened his eyes at the robot that had heard the gunshot and was moving very quickly towards them. "Oh, boy. Here it comes."</p>
<p>Shadow dropped into a jumping position. "Get ready to jump."</p>
<p>"Got it." Sonic copied his comrade and crouched low to the ground, eyeing the robot that was zooming closer and closer. They waited until the right time, and then —</p>
<p>"NOW!"</p>
<p>Shadow leaped through the air and gracefully landed on the robot. It erupted into a series of beeping noises as it wobbled with the sudden weight on its back. The dark hedgehog turned to see Sonic still on land.</p>
<p>"What are you doing?" he yelled over the wind. "Come on!"</p>
<p>Sonic hesitated. He felt like he was completely frozen; his eyes were locked on the water, watching waves crash mercilessly against the rock walls below. He felt his throat close up and he felt like he was drowning just by looking at the ocean.</p>
<p>"<i>Sonic!</i>"</p>
<p>The blue hedgehog felt chills down his spine and he gasped, looking up to see Shadow reaching out  a hand to him. </p>
<p>The dark hedgehog had never called him by his actual name before.</p>
<p>This was serious. He had to go <i>now.</i></p>
<p>Sonic let out a deep breath. <i>You can do this</i>, he mumbled to himself. <i>Just don't look at the water. Don't look down, and you'll be fine.</i></p>
<p>He squeezed his eyes shut and balled his hands up into fists, trying to gather enough confidence, and then …</p>
<p>He jumped.</p>
<p>Time seemed to come to a standstill. Sonic felt like he was floating. The ocean breeze gently blew through the quills on his head and he could barely make out the salty tang of the ocean water in the air.</p>
<p> For just a moment, everything was alright.</p>
<p>And then he looked down.</p>
<p>Suddenly, a hand grabbed his own and he was hoisted upward and onto the robot so quickly that he didn't comprehend what just happened. He looked up to see Shadow's eyes of pure horror in front of him, but when the dark hedgehog blinked, his eyes showed no emotion.</p>
<p>"Hang on to me so you don't fall into the water," Shadow advised, pretending that nothing happened. He turned to the robot and bonked its head, sending it into a beeping mess. "Take us to the mainland, already. We've been here long enough."</p>
<p>The robot suddenly jerked forward, making Sonic shout in surprise. He instinctively wrapped his arms around Shadow's waist so that he wouldn't fall and waited for the robot to slow down to a reasonable flying speed.</p>
<p>So warm.</p>
<p>Why was Shadow so warm?</p>
<p>Sonic couldn't help but bury his face into Shadow's shoulder to avoid having to look at the sea below and he felt the dark hedgehog tense up from the touch. Was he not used to actions like this?</p>
<p>"Thanks," Sonic mumbled.</p>
<p>Shadow didn't say anything back, but he did huff in acknowledgement before proceeding to bonk the robot again.</p>
<p>After a few minutes of flying, Sonic saw something vaguely resembling land and trees in the distance and gasped. "Is that the mainland?"</p>
<p>"Hold on. We're almost there."</p>
<p>The closer they got to the mainland, the more Sonic relaxed and focused on the breeze blowing through his blue fur. Soon, they would be back on land, and he wouldn't have to worry about going anywhere near the water ever again for the rest of his life.</p>
<p>"Damn it!" Shadow suddenly yelled.</p>
<p>Sonic snapped his eyes open and whipped his head to see another robot coming right towards them not too far away, charging up a beam of power. The two hedgehogs weren't able to hear it over the strong winds until it was too late.</p>
<p>Sonic turned back to Shadow, his thoughts racing to form a plan, but failing due to overthinking. "Oh, no. What do we do?"</p>
<p>The dark hedgehog was violently pounding the robot's head with his fists. "Come on! This robot can’t go any faster!"</p>
<p>Sonic cried out in pain as he was blasted in the side by searing power. The beam knocked him off the robot completely and the burning pain was so unbearable that his arms were forced to let go of Shadow.</p>
<p>It took him a second to realize that he was falling directly into the raging sea below.</p>
<p>Sonic's back smashed into the water and air was knocked out of his lungs. He instinctively tried to breathe in oxygen but was met with salty water filling his lungs. He felt himself sinking down and he flailed his arms and kicked his legs in an attempt to get his head above water, but to no avail. Completely helpless, he could only watch himself sink further and further down and away from the surface.</p>
<p>Shadow was probably still up in the sky with the two robots. The dark hedgehog wouldn't care that Sonic was drowning, right? The so-called "Ultimate Lifeform" must have better things to worry about, like returning to the mainland and continuing tasks like threatening people with guns for Chaos Emeralds. Saving Sonic would just slow him down. There was no way he was going to go out of his way and waste more of his time on him.</p>
<p><i>No one is coming to save me</i>, Sonic thought. <i>What’s the point in fighting anymore?</i></p>
<p>He instinctively clawed at his throat as a final attempt to grab some fresh oxygen before he let go. He allowed more sea water to fill his lungs and felt himself slowly losing consciousness, his vision fading more and more every second.</p>
<p>Is this how it ends? Sonic wondered. Look at me, the great Sonic, who’s saved the world at least billion times, dying to water, of all things.</p>
<p>It was all too laughable.</p>
<p>A rush of energy suddenly overcame him and he rose to the surface. It took him a few seconds of coughing out water to realize that someone had come to save him. He lifted his face to the sky, desperate to gulp down that sweet, sweet oxygen. His mind foggy, he turned to his savior to thank them.</p>
<p>It was Shadow. For probably the first time in Sonic's life, he saw that Shadow looked genuinely terrified.</p>
<p>
  <i>I don’t believe it. He actually came for me.</i>
</p>
<p>Sonic's vision slowly began to fade out as the dark hedgehog clutched him tightly. "I got you," Shadow said faintly. "I'm never letting go."</p>
<p>—</p>
<p>Soothing ocean waves licked at Sonic’s shoes as he slowly came to. Regaining consciousness, he coughed weakly and groaned, trying to make sense of his surroundings.</p>
<p>
  <i>What happened?</i>
</p>
<p>Sitting up, he looked around and spotted Shadow a few feet away from him, unconscious and laying face-down on the sand.</p>
<p>“Shadow!” Sonic tried to run over to the dark hedgehog, but his knees buckled on him and he collapsed to the sandy ground. He ended up having to crawl over to him.</p>
<p>“Are you okay? Wake up!” Sonic shook Shadow as violently as he possibly could, which wasn’t much because of his fatigue. The dark hedgehog didn't budge.</p>
<p>Motor noises came from overhead, and Sonic tilted his head upward and saw what looked to be about a hundred or so robots zooming through the sky, coming straight towards the two hedgehogs.</p>
<p>
  <i>Oh, no.</i>
</p>
<p>“Shadow? Shadow! Come on, we gotta go!” Sonic desperately shook the dark hedgehog even harder, helplessly watching as the robots came closer and closer.</p>
<p>Shadow raised a shaky hand. “Stop shaking me so much,” he groaned. “You’re making me dizzy.”</p>
<p>“Oh, good, you’re not dead.” Sonic sighed in relief and smacked him in the face to wake him up. “There are like a thousand robots hunting us down, so we need to go.”</p>
<p>Shadow cursed under his breath and struggled to sit up. “Help me up.”</p>
<p>Sonic took the dark hedgehog’s arm and swung it over his shoulder. Together, they pushed each other up so that they were standing and started limping away from the shore and into the forest.</p>
<p>“Think you can run?” Shadow grunted. “We need to run if we want to get away from these robots.”</p>
<p>“I — I think I’m okay. What about you?”</p>
<p>“I’ll be fine. Let’s go!”</p>
<p>The breeze brushed through Sonic’s blue fur as he rushed through the forest along with Shadow. He remembered how he loved to run and how much he took his speed for granted. He didn’t use to have so much time away from Amy, since she was always clinging onto him like a leech.</p>
<p>It was nice.</p>
<p>It felt nice to have some time with someone other than Amy; Shadow was completely different from her in seemingly every single way possible. It made Sonic’s experiences with him so much more interesting and, admittedly, fun.</p>
<p>Sonic skidded to a halt and turned to face the gigantic army of robots chasing after them. </p>
<p>“Hey, Shadow, we should see who can knock out the most robots, yeah?” he challenged, smirking.</p>
<p>Shadow crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow. “You think you can beat me? Your ego must be significantly larger than the size of your brain if you think that.”</p>
<p>Sonic rolled his eyes and jumped up, kicking a robot in its face mid-air and letting it crash into another one. He watched as they both fell to the ground and he gracefully landed next to them. He swept a leg under a robot beside him, tripping it and making it bump into another one.</p>
<p>A robot from behind Sonic rammed into him, making him cry out in pain. He tumbled to the floor as more robots quickly began to surround him like flies, charging up beams of power from their cannon-like arms. </p>
<p>Shadow kicked a robot in the back and punched another in the face. More of them rushed forward, but he knocked them out with ease. The dark hedgehog reached for his gun but cursed, realizing that it was gone.</p>
<p>"Shit. I must've dropped it in the water."</p>
<p>He backflipped as a robot swiped at him, and Sonic jumped up and punched it in the stomach. It flew back and smacked a group of robots behind it, making them fall over like dominoes.</p>
<p>Sonic finally landed on the ground and watched the last robot crash to the ground, defeated. He turned to smirk at Shadow, who looked satisfied at the amount of damage he had dealt to Eggman’s hard work. </p>
<p>“I knocked out about fifty robots,” Sonic bragged, brushing dust off his arm. He raised an eyebrow mockingly. “And you?”</p>
<p>Shadow failed to hide a cocky smile. “Fifty-three.” He started walking away from Sonic deeper into the forest, leaving the blue hedgehog dropping his jaw in shock behind him.</p>
<p>“What! You’re lying!” Sonic couldn’t help but laugh, running to catch up to him. “You got me to say my number first so that you could one-up me!”</p>
<p>Shadow rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t hide his smile. “You would’ve done the same if I said my number first,” he said in a way that mocked Sonic’s way of speaking. He reached and booped Sonic’s nose. “But for your information, I counted properly.”</p>
<p>Sonic felt his face grow hot, as if someone lit him on fire. He tried to say something back, but he could only stutter a few pathetic sounds. Shadow was walking away without even stopping for him. </p>
<p>“Wh—Hey! Wait up!”</p>
<p>They continued walking for a while before Shadow suddenly stopped, and Sonic crashed into him.</p>
<p>“Ow! What—“ </p>
<p>“Do you know your way back to your place?” Shadow asked tentatively, turning around to look his companion in the eye.</p>
<p>Sonic frowned at the sudden question. "Well, yeah. I know this forest almost like the back of my hand."</p>
<p>Shadow turned in the opposite direction. "Then, I'll be on my way."</p>
<p>It was like Shadow’s mood completely changed in a matter of seconds. He was a lot more open a while ago. </p>
<p>Sonic's heart sank. <i>Wait, what? Leaving already? But I wanna hang out with you longer!</i> he found himself thinking. <i>Wait, </i>what<i>??</i></p>
<p>"Wait, didn't you want Chaos Emeralds or something?" he blurted, panicked. "You kidnapped me for a reason.”</p>
<p>Shadow started to walk away and responded with a casual "Nah" without looking back.</p>
<p>Sonic spluttered, "What?"</p>
<p>"You and your friends clearly didn't have any. You are of no use to me anymore."</p>
<p>Sonic watched helplessly as Shadow disappeared into the darkness of the forest before turning and walking towards his house.</p>
<p>"Thanks for saving me," he said to no one.</p>
<p>He wished he could hang out with him longer. Their encounter was thrilling, and he missed that rush of adrenaline that he got when he was around him.</p>
<p>“Oh! Look who it is. Sonic, was it?”</p>
<p>Sonic jumped and whipped his head around. “What? Who’s there?”</p>
<p>“I’m up here, rat.”</p>
<p>“I’m no rat!” Sonic looked up to see a familiar bat perched up on a tree branch above him. “Wait, you’re the girl from before, when Shadow kidnapped me.”</p>
<p>“Rouge the bat," she winked. "Nice to see you again.”</p>
<p>Sonic crossed his arms over his chest. “What are you doing here? Were you following me or something?”</p>
<p>“Hmm, I heard about your little … ah, conflict.” She sent him a sly smile, as if she knew much more than he did.</p>
<p>Sonic raised an eyebrow. “About what?” </p>
<p>“About Amy.”</p>
<p>“What? How — How do you know about that?” he demanded. “The only person I told about it was … Shadow …”</p>
<p>He faltered. Did Shadow tell her? There was no way he did; he just saw him a minute ago!</p>
<p>“Oh, don't worry, Shadow didn’t tell me," Rouge assured, waving a hand. "I heard about it myself in the vents while you two were in your little prison cells.”</p>
<p>“In the vents? How did we not see you in there while we were escaping?”</p>
<p>“I’m an agent working for the government, Sonic. Blending in the dark is my profession.”</p>
<p>Sonic started to sweat. "Wait, so you didn't bother trying to save us back there?"</p>
<p>“So, about Amy ...” Rouge dodged the question.</p>
<p>Sonic grew defensive. “Why do you wanna know? This is none of your business!”</p>
<p>Rouge jumped down from the tree branch to stand at eye level to Sonic, and looked him in the eye.</p>
<p>“This is my business just as much as yours. Your skull is thick as rubber, and you’re so dense that even I can see why you don’t love Amy from a mile away. It's annoying.”</p>
<p>“Wait. You know why?”</p>
<p>Rouge rolled her eyes, smiling. “Isn’t it obvious?"</p>
<p>"No, obviously, that's why I'm asking!"</p>
<p>The bat sighed tiredly. "I wonder. Who have you been hanging out with so much for the whole day today?"</p>
<p>Sonic frowned at the question. "What?"</p>
<p>Rouge stepped closer, almost in his face. "Who have you been having so much fun with that's not Amy?"</p>
<p>The whole world seemed to come to a complete stop. As Rouge asked those questions, a very specific person came to mind.</p>
<p>“I bet you’re already thinking about that person.”</p>
<p>
  <i>Holy heck.</i>
</p>
<p>Reality finally crashed down on him. It made so much sense. How did he not notice before? It was obvious. So, so obvious.</p>
<p>"Shadow," Sonic whispered.</p>
<p>He was so, so stupid.</p>
<p>Sonic didn’t love Amy at all.</p>
<p>Because his heart belonged to Shadow.</p>
<p>He had to break up with Amy <i>now.</i></p>
<p>Rouge smiled at Sonic’s face as the realization finally dawned on him. “Ah, you finally got it." She bonked him on the head. "Took you long enough.”</p>
<p>Sonic could only give her a face of horror. “I have to go.”</p>
<p>“Glad I could finally help clear things up for you," she called as Sonic sped off.</p>
<p>Sonic raced to his house faster than he’d ever gone before, almost tripping on tree branches and other forest debris on the way to his house. The urgency of the situation made his heart race.</p>
<p>After what felt like hours to him, he finally stopped at the doorstep of his house and the realization of what he was going to do really settled in. His hands started to feel clammy, and his mouth started to dry up.</p>
<p>“Shake it off, Sonic.” He tried to comfort himself under his breath. “You can do this.”</p>
<p>He started to reach for the doorknob, but an unseen force held his hand back and his heart skipped a beat.</p>
<p>
  <i>What if Shadow doesn’t like me back?</i>
</p>
<p>Thoughts began to invade his head and his hands started to shake slightly. Would it be better for Sonic to stay with someone who definitely cared about him, or risk it and leave her to chase someone else who might not even be interested in him?</p>
<p>
  <i>What does Shadow even think of me? Who am I to him? Enemies? Acquaintances? Friends?</i>
</p>
<p>Questions flooded Sonic’s head before he could even begin to comprehend them; it was almost overwhelming for the poor hedgehog.</p>
<p>
  <i>I have to break up with her either way, don’t I? Even if Shadow doesn't think of me that way, at least I won't have to deal with pretending to like Amy anymore. I can finally be myself.</i>
</p>
<p>Sonic placed his hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath.</p>
<p>“You can do this,” he whispered to himself. </p>
<p>With all the courage and strength he could muster, he opened the door. </p>
<p>Upon hearing the creak of the door opening, Tails rushed into the room. “Sonic! You’re okay!”</p>
<p>“Sonic?”</p>
<p>Amy’s door burst open and she ran to Sonic faster than his brain could process, tackling him in a warm embrace.</p>
<p>“You’re back! I was so worried!”</p>
<p>She pulled back and looked him up and down, scanning him for any injuries. “Are you hurt at all?” </p>
<p>Sonic looked down at her and noticed that her eyes were red from crying. She must’ve been so worried for him.</p>
<p>Sonic mentally sighed. Did she really have to make things so difficult for him?</p>
<p>He gently pried Amy’s hands from his arms with shaky hands and sighed. “Amy, I want to talk with you about something.”</p>
<p>“Huh?” She blinked. “Um, okay.”</p>
<p>Sonic took her hand and took her through the forest to a place where no one would bother them. With every step he took, his heart started beating faster and faster. He hoped Amy wouldn’t notice his sweaty hands through his white gloves, and he gulped nervously. </p>
<p>The forest trees opened up to reveal a cliff overlooking the sea below. The sound of crashing waves was enough to calm Sonic down as he turned to face his girlfriend, Amy.</p>
<p>“So, what did you want to tell me?” Amy asked nervously. She could sense something was off; Sonic felt … different, as if he had changed somehow during the few hours he was gone. “Is something wrong?”</p>
<p>Sonic let out a final sigh. Well, it was too late to turn back now.</p>
<p>I hope this goes well.</p>
<p>“Amy, we’re breaking up.”</p>
<p>Amy’s eyes widened in surprise and she gasped, subconsciously taking a step back in disbelief. “Wh … What?” she stuttered. Tears pricked her eyes as she blinked in confusion. "Why?"</p>
<p>Sonic gritted his teeth. “I can’t keep lying to you anymore,” he forced himself to continue. “I — I’m not in love with you. I’m in love with someone else.”</p>
<p>Amy stopped completely and bowed her head, and Sonic was afraid that she was going to explode on him. </p>
<p>“Have you ever thought about how I feel about this?” she asked, so quietly that it sent chills down Sonic’s spine. “I love you, Sonic. I always have, and I always will. I am never giving you up, no matter what obstacles lie in our way.”</p>
<p>“Amy …” Sonic was struggling to keep up with her words. What was she going to do?</p>
<p>“You’ve never acted like this, ever. Something’s off about you.”</p>
<p>
  <i>Wait. What? </i>
</p>
<p>Amy suddenly launched herself forward and grabbed Sonic’s head, shaking him violently. “Dr. Eggman brainwashed you. didn’t he?” she cried. “I saw him kidnap you earlier. My Sonic would never say things like that to me! He loves me and he always will forever and ever!”</p>
<p>“Wh — Amy, no! It’s me, I swear!” he struggled to say. A headache was beginning to form, and it didn’t look like Amy would stop jerking his head so vigorously anytime soon.</p>
<p>Amy finally let go of Sonic’s head and grabbed his hand, beginning to drag him along with her. “We have to get Tails and Knuckles. You need help NOW!”</p>
<p>Amy kicked down the door to the house and practically threw Sonic inside, sending him crashing to the floor. “Tails! Knuckles! Sonic’s been brainwashed by Dr. Eggman!”</p>
<p>Tails emerged from the garage, covered in gasoline and oil. “What?” He frowned. “He looked fine a minute ago.”</p>
<p>“Well, he's not fine! He tried to break up with me just now!” she cried. </p>
<p>Tails looked into Sonic’s eyes, seemingly understanding his situation. He tried to speak up, “I don’t think he's —“</p>
<p>A gunshot rang out, and the glass window beside Amy shattered into a million pieces. The piercing noise made everyone instinctively cover their ears and close their eyes.</p>
<p>Knuckles kicked the door, breaking its hinges off and sending it hurling towards the window-breaker. “What! We literally just fixed that window!” he roared.</p>
<p>Amy pointed at the perpetrator who was standing in front of the window frame. “You! You helped brainwash Sonic, didn’t you?”</p>
<p>With his quick reflexes, Shadow punched the door as it flew at him and watched it wither into nothing but splinters. He frowned in confusion at Amy. “What? Brainwash?”</p>
<p>“You got Sonic kidnapped by Eggman so that he would get brainwashed into thinking that he doesn’t love me!” Amy accused, pointing a finger at him angrily. “He tried to break up with me, saying that he’s apparently in love with someone else!”</p>
<p>Sonic’s eyes widened. Oh, no. What was Shadow’s reaction going to be?</p>
<p>The dark hedgehog paused for a moment, processing what Amy was accusing him of. Then a smirk stretched across his face and he pointed his gun at them.</p>
<p>“Ah. Looks like you idiots found out sooner than I expected.” He swiftly slid across the wooden floor and scooped up Sonic in his arms, who let out a little squeak in surprise. “If you don’t mind, I’ll be taking him now.”</p>
<p>“Wait, no! Sonic!" Amy reached out to the one she loved as Shadow jumped out the window with him and ran off into the forest.</p>
<p>“You're — You're kidnapping me again?” Sonic couldn’t help but laugh. “I never thought you’d stoop so low.”</p>
<p>Shadow rolled his eyes. “It’s for the greater good. You had to get away from her somehow.”</p>
<p>“Oh, is it really for the greater good?” Sonic asked, raising an eyebrow tauntingly.</p>
<p>Shadow finally stopped running and he helped Sonic down. The blue hedgehog turned to see the same cliff from before, when he tried breaking up with Amy. The sun was almost gone at this point and warm colors splashed across the sky like a painting from a museum. A light breeze gently brushed through his fur.</p>
<p>Sonic took a seat at the edge of the cliff. “So why did you come back, anyway? You really had no reason to. You said it yourself.”</p>
<p>Shadow joined Sonic and sat down, sighing before making eye contact with the blue hedgehog. “Rouge told you, didn’t she?”</p>
<p><i>Rouge?</i> Sonic remembered what Rouge and he had talked about and he blushed a deep red. He started panicking. <i>No freaking way. Don’t tell me—</i></p>
<p>“Uh, t-told you what?” he asked, trying to sound as calm as possible. Every part of him was screaming inside, and his hands were starting to get sweaty for what felt like the hundredth time today.</p>
<p>Shadow looked away and started pulling at the grass next to him. “Don’t make me say it. It’s as embarrassing to me as it is to you.”</p>
<p>“Wait, wait, wait. Do you — do you actually like me?”</p>
<p>It was almost unbelievable. Shadow, the Ultimate Lifeform, the indestructible hedgehog, the all-powerful — falling for Sonic?</p>
<p>The tip of the dark hedgehog’s ears were dusted with red, confirming his answer without a single word spoken.</p>
<p>“Hey, uh, it’s okay,” Sonic assured in a soft voice, gently resting his hand on Shadow’s shoulder. “It’s because of you that I remembered that being in a relationship with Amy didn’t make me happy. And you know what?”</p>
<p>Shadow hesitantly turned to look at Sonic again, trying to block out any emotion in his eyes but failing. His eyes showed raw vulnerability: something Sonic had never seen before.</p>
<p>“You’ve already made me so much happier than anyone else I’ve ever met, and we’ve only hung out and gotten to know each other for, like, a single day.”</p>
<p>Sonic chuckled softly and reached a hand to brush against Shadow’s hot cheek. “I’d rather be with you,” he whispered breathlessly.</p>
<p>Shadow hesitated before shyly smiling. “M-Me too.”</p>
<p>They carefully leaned forward, Sonic taking the lead because Shadow had absolutely zero experience with relationships and the like. Their lips lightly brushed together.</p>
<p>Then Sonic proceeded to pass out.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Recovery</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>While Sonic is recovering after the drowning incident, Shadow is determined to make up for his past mistakes.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Just because I’m referred to as a doctor doesn’t mean I’m a medical doctor!!” Eggman was yelling faintly. "You animals know nothing!"</p><p>“Ugh ...” Sonic groaned weakly. He opened his eyes, but his vision was too blurry for him to see. “What ...?”</p><p>His backside felt really cold, like he was laying on something hard and metallic. A lab table?</p><p>“Just do something already, you lazy egg!” Knuckles shouted back. “You got us into this mess in the first place. If it weren’t for you, Sonic would be fine.”</p><p>“This is all your fault, Eggman!” Amy screamed, her voice shaky. “First you brainwash Sonic, and then you try to drown him?! You’re despicable!”</p><p>Sonic felt a hand on his forehead. “Eggman, all we need is an oxygen tank and mask,” Tails spoke up calmly beside him. “That’s it. Get us what we need and we’ll leave you alone. We just want our friend alive.”</p><p>Eggman groaned in exasperation. “Alright, look, you hogs. I’m not going to save someone who thwarts my evil plans everyday for <i>fun.</i> This is your guys’ fault for trying to take my Chaos Emeralds!”</p><p>Knuckles scoffed. “Uh, our fault?! As if we'll believe that! It was Shadow who took your emeralds, not us!”</p><p>Everyone erupted. All Sonic could hear was yelling coming from both his friends and Eggman alike, and the blue hedgehog’s ears were ringing from the loud volume.</p><p>Someone cocked their gun, and everyone in the room instantly fell silent.</p><p>“Give us the oxygen tank and mask or I’ll blow your <i>fucking</i> brains out.”</p><p>Sonic could recognize that voice anywhere.</p><p>Shadow. </p><p>Sonic opened his eyes and his vision was much more clear. He saw Shadow a few feet away pointing a gun at Eggman, whose arms were up in the air.</p><p>“Sonic, you’re alright!” Tails cried, relieved. He grabbed his best friend’s hand. “We're going to get you help. It’s gonna be okay; everything’s gonna be okay.”</p><p>“Sonic?” Amy gasped and sprinted over to him. “Don’t worry, Sonic! I’m here now.”</p><p>Sonic groaned, because Amy was blocking his view of Shadow.</p><p>Eggman cackled. “You’ve grown weak, Shadow. You’re supposed to be the ‘Ultimate Lifeform.’ And here you are, stooping down to their —“ the doctor spat in Sonic’s direction — “level!”</p><p>Shadow fired his gun, causing Eggman to scream in fear. The bullet barely missed Eggman’s neck by just a few hairs.</p><p>“Get the oxygen equipment now!” Shadow’s hands began to shake angrily. This was his final warning.</p><p>“Alright, fine!” Eggman surrendered. “I should have the equipment; I — I just have to go look for it. I haven't needed to use any of it in so long.”</p><p>Shadow narrowed his eyes and turned to Knuckles, holding out his gun for him to take. “You, red guy.” The dark hedgehog gestured towards Eggman leaving the room. “Follow him and make sure he’s doing what he’s supposed to be doing.”</p><p>Knuckles growled. “I don’t need the gun. I have my <i>fists</i>.” He marched out of the room after Eggman, awaiting the moment when he could punch Eggman's face.</p><p>Shadow immediately stormed towards the lab table that Sonic was resting on and shoved Amy out of the way, who yelped in surprise.</p><p>Sonic coughed weakly and gently patted Shadow's hand. “Don’t worry about me,” he croaked. “I’m okay.” He gazed longingly into the dark hedgehog’s ruby eyes.</p><p>Tails frowned at their exchanged expressions, totally confused. “Wait, are you two —“</p><p>Shadow was suddenly smacked directly in the face with Amy’s giant hammer. The impact threw the dark hedgehog flying and he crashed through one of the glass windows, sending dangerously sharp pieces of glass flying everywhere. His back slammed against a wall in the hallway and he fell to the floor.</p><p>“Amy, no!” Tails gasped. "You know how Shadow is; there's no way you'll be able to take him on all by yourself! He's way too dangerous!"</p><p>Amy growled, tightening her grip on her giant hammer. “He hurt Sonic. I can’t — no, I <i>won’t</i> let him hurt my love anymore!”</p><p>“Seriously, what is it with Shadow and him breaking glass windows?” Sonic mumbled, his head dizzy.</p><p>In the blink of an eye, Shadow stood up and jumped back through the window. Within milliseconds, he had pulled out his gun and was already pointing it at the back of Amy's head.</p><p>Tails rose up next to Sonic. "Shadow," he said slowly, careful not to anger the dark hedgehog more than he already was, "you don't have to do this. Just put the gun down and let's just ... talk it out. "</p><p>Shadow ignored Tails completely and, instead, pressed the gun to Amy's head. "Good thing that knucklehead didn't take my gun back there."</p><p>Amy gritted her teeth. "Good thing nothing is going to stop me from keeping Sonic safe from the likes of you!" Letting out a battle cry, she swiftly turned and knocked the gun straight out of Shadow's hand with her hammer, letting it skid across the lab floor. She lifted up her weapon to deliver a blow to Shadow's head. "I will never let you go anywhere near Sonic ever again!"</p><p>The dark hedgehog ducked out of the way just in time as the hammer slammed down, the impact leaving a small crater in the floor. He grabbed Amy's hammer by the handle and sharply twisted it out of her hands before smashing her face with the end of it. She fell backwards, yelping from the immense pain. Without a second to spare, the dark hedgehog grabbed her by the spikes on her head and carelessly tossed her like dead weight towards the wall.</p><p>"You're pathetic," Shadow finally spoke. He rested Amy's hammer on his shoulder and took his time walking towards her. "You think Sonic actually wants you?"</p><p>Using the rest of her energy, she weakly shuffled and pressed her back to the wall behind her, breathing heavily. "Who are you to talk about Sonic like that?" she spat. "You know nothing about him!"</p><p>Shadow leaned in close. "Sonic's been around me longer than he's been on dates with you, and I've only been with him for a single day. Aren't you supposed to be his 'girlfriend?'" he mocked.</p><p>Amy couldn’t even speak. She knew deep down that Sonic most likely never liked her the same way she liked him. He probably only dated her because he felt so bad about rejecting her so many times.</p><p>“You’re nothing but a burden. You don’t deserve to be anyone’s friend.” Shadow lifted up the hammer over Amy, ready to swing it down onto her head.</p><p>Shadow was right, and she knew it.</p><p>The pink hedgehog only hung her head in shame, allowing a single tear to drip down her cheek. “I’m—I’m so sorry …”</p><p>Shadow narrowed his eyes and hesitantly lowered the hammer as Amy continued.</p><p>“Back then, I thought that, if I kept trying to get Sonic to like me, then he eventually would, right? I thought if I could impress him, he would finally realize that he liked me. But … I guess I just guilt-tripped him into pretending to like me back instead.”</p><p>Amy raised her head to look at Shadow, scanning his blank red eyes for any sort of remorse or anything. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, I swear. Maybe, if—if I knew better … if I accepted that no meant no, that Sonic wasn’t interested in me at all, then he wouldn’t have gotten hurt today. Maybe … maybe all of this is my fault.”</p><p>Shadow remained emotionless for a moment, processing Amy’s emotional speech, before a malicious smile spread across his face.</p><p>“Perfect last words.”</p><p>He lifted the hammer high in the air and swung it down with deadly strength. Weak and defenseless, Amy could only squeeze her eyes shut and accept defeat.</p><p>“Stop!”</p><p>Shadow was quick to stop due to his extreme reflexes. The momentum of the hammer nearly broke his arms and he took a step back as he let the stolen weapon drop to the floor with a loud bang.</p><p>Amy opened her eyes and gasped.</p><p>Sonic’s arms and legs were apart in an attempt to shield Amy. He struggled to stand and stay conscious; his knees felt weak and he saw stars in his vision, but the situation was serious and he knew he had to be awake for this.</p><p>“Sonic …?” Amy asked, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. “Why are you doing this?”</p><p>Sonic looked back at her and coughed weakly. “Because you’re still my friend, Amy. No matter what.”</p><p>“You—“ Amy choked up, and she started sobbing uncontrollably.</p><p>Shadow’s eyes were wide. “You—You should be resting,” he stuttered, almost unable to speak in shock.</p><p>“Yeah, and you two shouldn’t be fighting right now, but here we are.” The blue hedgehog’s knees finally buckled on him and he collapsed to the floor, causing everyone to gasp. Amy quickly grabbed him and rested his head on her lap as Shadow dove down to see if he was okay. His breathing was erratic, but he should be fine if —</p><p>“Where is that damn doctor?” Shadow growled. He raised his head and glared at the door. “It’s been over ten minutes.”</p><p>Tails came from behind the lab table to join his friends on the floor, frowning. “You’d think that with Knuckles to supervise, Dr. Eggman would hurry up a little bit.”</p><p>As if on cue, Dr. Eggman and Knuckles stormed into the room, arguing the whole way in.</p><p>“What? You said you had the equipment!” Knuckles yelled. He swung a fist, and the doctor barely managed to dodge it.</p><p>“I told you already, I <i>do</i> have it!” Eggman shouted back. “It’s in another room, but I can't transport it here; we just have to carry Sonic there.”</p><p>“Then why didn’t you get a stretcher so that we could bring him to that room?!”</p><p>“BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE THAT! I LITERALLY JUST SAID THAT I’M NOT A MEDICAL DOCTOR!!”</p><p>"YOU SAID THAT YOU HAD EQUIPMENT! ARE YOU LYING OR NOT?!"</p><p>Tails pinched the bridge of his nose and stood up. “Guys, we need to treat Sonic as soon as possible. We can’t afford to waste any more time than we already have.”</p><p>“Well, let’s go!” Amy put her arms under Sonic’s neck and knees and was about to lift him up when Shadow shoved her aside. </p><p>“Wha — Hey! I was just trying to help!”</p><p>Shadow gracefully swept Sonic up in his arms bridal-style, the same way that he’d done a number of times before. “Hurry up. We’re taking too long.”</p><p>The group rushed through the door and down a long hallway into another room filled with medical equipment. Shadow almost threw Sonic onto the hospital bed in the middle of the room and Eggman sprinted to a nearby computer, booting it up.</p><p>“Alright, so if Sonic almost drowned, that means he probably inhaled water,” Eggman clicked away at his keyboard. “We need to do an x-ray on his chest to make sure there isn’t any water left in his lungs." He pulled down the x-ray tube that hung over the lab table and adjusted it so that it was aimed at Sonic's lung area.</p><p>After a minute or so, Eggman was able to pull up an x-ray photo of Sonic’s lungs. His face contorted in almost disgust.</p><p>“There’s still a lot of water in there. We need resuscitation.”</p><p>Amy weaved her way through her friends to get to Sonic when Shadow violently shoved her away, almost making her lose her balance and falling.</p><p>“You—what the heck is wrong with you?” she yelled. “Can't you see that I’m just trying to help?”</p><p>“What do you even get out of helping him?” Shadow shouted back. “Do you think you can impress him or something? Just give up! It’s over!”</p><p>Tears pricked Amy’s eyes. “What, I’m not even allowed to help my friend anymore?”</p><p>As Shadow and Amy were loudly arguing, Tails sighed and voluntarily stepped forward. He cracked his knuckles before hesitantly placing his hands on Sonic’s chest. He looked toward Eggman for confirmation.</p><p>“Do I just …?”</p><p>"Just get it over with."</p><p>Tails returned his gaze to Sonic and let out a deep breath before pushing all of his weight onto his friend's chest. A loud, sickening crack echoed throughout the room and Tails jumped back.</p><p>"What was that? Did I just break his rib?"</p><p>Eggman casually waved a hand. "It's fine. If he survives, he'll thank you."</p><p>Sonic suddenly started coughing up water and everyone jumped back in surprise. The blue hedgehog raised a hand to his chest. </p><p>“Ow … what happened?”</p><p>“I’m so sorry!” Tails apologized profusely. "I accidentally broke one of your ribs.”</p><p>“Red!” Eggman called to Knuckles. “There’s an ice pack in the fridge behind y—”</p><p>Knuckles almost ripped the door right off of the mini fridge and snatched the ice pack, running to give it to Sonic while Tails offered him the oxygen mask.</p><p>“The rib will heal on its own and all the water should be gone from his lungs by now. All we need to do now is let him rest.” Eggman dismissed everyone and was the first to leave the room. Everyone else gave Sonic worrying looks before slowly leaving the room.</p><p>Amy stopped to glance at Shadow through narrowed eyes and then left, quietly closing the door behind her. </p><p>The dark hedgehog pulled up a nearby chair and sat next to Sonic.</p><p>“Hey,” Sonic said softly. He gently took Shadow’s hand in his own, taking comfort in the dark hedgehog’s warmth.</p><p>Shadow sighed. “I’m sorry about what happened to you. If I just saw that robot earlier—“</p><p>“Shadow.” Sonic squeezed his hand. “It’s not your fault, so don’t say it is. The only person at fault here is Eggman and his terrible robot-building skills.” He chuckled at his own joke. “Besides, you saved me, and for that I’m forever grateful.”</p><p>Shadow gave him a half-smile, feeling guilty inside despite Sonic’s reassurance.</p><p>He should’ve been more careful. He should've protected Sonic better so that he wouldn't fall in the water.</p><p>He stood up from his chair. “A lot happened today, so you should rest.”</p><p>“Already? What’re you gonna do in the meantime? I’m not sure you can just have a friendly chit-chat with Tails or Knuckles … especially Amy.” Sonic shuddered at the thought, remembering the fight they just had.</p><p>Shadow was thinking that, too. He was planning on going to just have some time to himself, but if he was going to be with Sonic, then he should probably try to get along with his friends. That might be difficult to do because of what he did in the past, though …</p><p>“I’ll find a way somehow.”</p><p>Shadow decided to head outside for some fresh air. Exiting the building, he found Tails adjusting a small blue and red plane and recognized it as the one that flew him, Sonic and his friends here when Sonic had passed out. Shadow was grateful that Tails didn’t question when he had returned to the house with an unconscious Sonic in his arms right after kidnapping him.</p><p>“Oh! Shadow!” Tails called from halfway under the plane. He waved a hand, motioning for him to come over. “Can you hold this wrench for me?”</p><p>Before Shadow could open his mouth to respond, the yellow fox shoved an oil-soaked wrench in his hands. He wrinkled his nose at the smell.</p><p>“So…” Tails tried to fill the awkward silence as he worked. “You and Sonic like each other, don’t you?”</p><p>Straight to the point. Shadow started sweating nervously. This was his chance to get to know Sonic’s friends and convince them to trust him. Surely they would be protective of their friend and not want him to date a bad person, so he had to prove to them that he wouldn’t treat Sonic badly.</p><p>He subconsciously fiddled with the wrench in his hands. “Uh — yeah. Yeah, we like each other.”</p><p>
  <i>Keep your composure! What is wrong with you? You never act like this!</i>
</p><p>“I know you might not accept it because of the things I’ve done in the past,” Shadow forced, “but—“</p><p>“Yeah, I know you’ve done really, really bad things.” Tails pulled himself from under the plane and brushed off dirt from his arms. He stood up and grabbed Shadow’s shoulders. “But I’m going to give you a chance anyway.” He smiled reassuringly. “You saved Sonic back there, when he was drowning. I think you deserve a second chance.”</p><p>“Wait. Really?”</p><p>“Yeah,” the yellow fox nodded. “If Sonic is happy with you, then I’m totally fine with it.” He turned back towards the plane. “Knuckles, what do you think?”</p><p>Knuckles’ head popped out from where he was chilling on the plane seats before sighing and jumping off of it, landing in front of Shadow and Tails. </p><p>He was hiding the whole time? He was so quiet, Shadow didn’t notice.</p><p>“Well …” The red echidna nervously rubbed the back of his neck. “I feel really bad, you know? I’m the one who told Sonic to date Amy even though he specifically told me he didn’t like her that way. Thanks to you, though, Sonic is out of that one-sided relationship.”</p><p>“So, that means …?”</p><p>Knuckles nodded his head in support. “If Sonic does like you, then that’s great.”</p><p>Shadow let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you … both of you.” The word <i>thank you </i>felt awkward to say because he almost never said that before. He was learning so much by being around Sonic and his kind friends, it was almost overwhelming.</p><p>After a bit of chatting with Tails and Knuckles, Shadow walked back into the building and aimlessly roamed around, wondering how to keep himself entertained until Sonic recovered. He came upon the room from before, where he had the fight with Amy. Dr. Eggman was blankly staring at the broken windows, lost in his own (probably evil) thoughts. Shadow approached him from the other side of the windows to face him directly. The two stood in complete silence for a moment before Shadow spoke.</p><p>“Why did you decide to save Sonic? Surely you were conscious of the fact that he is the one who is always thwarting your plans. You could’ve let him die.”</p><p>Eggman’s eyebrows furrowed and he loomed over the hedgehog. It didn’t help that he was significantly taller than the average man.</p><p>"Maybe I wanted to be a medical doctor a few years back."</p><p>Shadow raised an eyebrow, trying not to break composure. "And now, with your evil plans,  you are endangering the lives of people who could've been your patients?"</p><p>Eggman shrugged. "Sure."</p><p>Shadow snorted at the irony and exited the room, aimlessly wandered down the hall, wondering what to do now. </p><p>Muffled grunts and thuds echoed the hallway and caused Shadow to halt in his tracks.  He followed the sound to the source and stopped in front of a door at the end of the hall, cautiously opening it.</p><p>Inside of the room, Amy was brutally destroying a punching bag. She was beating it with her fists before diving down and slamming it in the side with her foot. She wiped away a bead of sweat from her forehead, panting heavily from the intense workout. "What, you come to mock me?"</p><p>Shadow shook his head. “No. I wanted to talk with you about Sonic. Without fighting this time.” </p><p>Amy pinched the bridge of her nose, groaning. “Alright, look. We already talked about this. I know Sonic doesn’t like me or think of me the same way I do to him. It’s …” </p><p>Amy turned around to look Shadow in the eyes. Her eyes gleamed with unshed tears, which surprised him.</p><p>“It’s hard, you know, when someone doesn’t like you back. Especially if they’ve been leading you on, dating you pretending to like you, but it’s not his fault. It’s my fault for pressuring him into dating me.”</p><p>Shadow remained silent.</p><p>Amy’s eyes narrowed. “You and Sonic like each other.”</p><p>Shadow felt his heart skip a beat. </p><p>She wasn’t asking a question.</p><p>It was a statement.</p><p>“It’s so obvious,” she continued. “Even back at the spring festival in the city, when you passed by us, I could see the pure awe in Sonic’s eyes. He’s never, ever looked at me the same way he looks at you!” Her voice cracked. “And a while ago when we were waiting for Eggman to get the oxygen tank? When you shoved me out of the way just to see Sonic? The way you two looked at each other … I only hit you with my hammer because I was jealous!”</p><p>Amy walked forward until she was practically inches from Shadow. The dark hedgehog had to press himself against the door to get personal space.</p><p>“But … you made Sonic happy. He’s never like that around me, but, with you, he’s genuinely happy. And if he’s happier with you than he is with me, then … who am I to stop him from being happy?”</p><p>Shadow looked down, shuffling his feet. “We both want what’s best for him.”</p><p>Amy sighed, preparing for what she was about to say. “Okay. If Sonic wants to date you, I’ll accept it. It’s fine by me.” She jabbed a finger at Shadow’s chest. “But if you hurt him — if you lay a single finger on him …”</p><p>She leaned close to his ear. “ … I’ll make you regret it.”</p><p>Chills ran down Shadow’s spine. He knew perfectly well that Amy would do everything in her power to protect Sonic and keep him safe. Even though Shadow had easily beaten her in their fight from earlier, Amy had bravery and courage and several friends to back her up.</p><p>Keeping up a false mask of calmness, he took a finger and lowered hers. “You have my word. He’s safe with me.”</p><p>“Good. He’d better be.”</p><p>—</p><p>Unfortunately, Eggman didn’t have any bedrooms in his secret base, so Shadow and Sonic’s friends had to improvise. The friends were sleeping on the floor in one room and Shadow chose to rest in the hallway near the room where Sonic was resting, just to stay close to him at all times if he was ever needed.</p><p>The dark hedgehog was about to fall asleep when he heard the sound of a door creaking open and shoes tapping against the floor. A blanket was tossed over him and someone collapsed next to him with a grunt, finally convincing Shadow to snap his eyes open and be met with Sonic.</p><p>“What are you doing here?” Shadow hissed. “You’re supposed to be resting like Eggman told you to.”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Sonic rolled his eyes tiredly. “I just felt like seeing you.”</p><p>Shadow’s face started to burn with embarrassment and he tossed the blanket over so that it was covering Sonic instead.</p><p>“Your — Your rib.” Shadow tried to change the subject in the hopes that the heat in his face would eventually go away. “How is it?”</p><p>Sonic sighed and leaned against the wall, smirking. “It may still hurt, but when I’m with you, the pain magically goes away.”</p><p>Shadow felt like he was on fire. The nerve of that hedgehog … </p><p>The dark hedgehog reached over and flicked Sonic’s nose. “Don’t say things like that!” The smile on his face betrayed his words.</p><p>“Aww, are you embarrassed?”</p><p>“N-No, I am not.” Shadow crossed his arms over his chest and huffed.</p><p>Sonic’s laugh echoed through the hallway and was enough to make Shadow’s cold heart squeeze. “If you say so.” The blue hedgehog leaned on his shoulder and promptly passed out into a deep sleep.</p><p>Shadow couldn’t help but chuckle to himself before resting his head on top of Sonic’s, allowing the peaceful silence to lull him to sleep.</p><p>—</p><p>“Alright, everyone!” Tails revved up the engine of the mini plane as Knuckles, Amy, Shadow and Sonic climbed in. “Are we ready to go?”</p><p>Sonic collapsed in a seat next to Shadow and hissed, feeling his healing rib shift a little. "I can't wait to get out. I hate it here."</p><p>“Mmm.” Shadow leaned back and closed his eyes, allowing himself to relax for the first time in a long time and feel the cool wind blowing on his face. </p><p>Sonic randomly bursted out into a laughing fit. His rib was killing him, but he really couldn’t stop if he wanted to.</p><p>“Wh—“ Shadow sat up and frowned at his boyfriend. “Are you okay? Is there still water in your lungs?”</p><p>“No no no, I’m—“ Sonic wheezed in pain and wiped a tear away. “It’s just the absurdity of all of this. First of all, you—you broke our windows twice in one day, you kidnapped me twice in one day. You got us captured by Eggman and we had to escape through the vents! And you saved me from drowning! And—and during all of that—“ he laughed harder. It was surprising how none of his other friends could hear him over the loud whirring of the plane engine. “During all of that, I somehow got you to fall for me! Is this even real? I can't believe it! It’s like a weird dream come true.”</p><p>Shadow raised an eyebrow. “Well, then can you believe this?” Without any hesitation, he pulled Sonic close and quickly pecked him on the lips, chuckling when the blue hedgehog fell backward, unable to process what just happened.</p><p>“What happened while I was out?” Sonic guffawed loudly in disbelief. “You’ve gotten a lot more confident in yourself already!” He put a hand to his heart, fake-crying. “I’m so proud of you.”</p><p>“Why, thank you,” Shadow said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “Soon I will be the master of confidence.”</p><p>“Sarcasm, too?” Sonic pulled him in for a hug. “You’re amazing.”</p><p>They locked eyes for a moment before pressing their lips together. Sonic’s heart fluttered in bliss.</p><p>“Alright, you lovebirds, are you done back there?” Tails teased from the front of the plane, causing the two hedgehogs to break apart. “Get ready. We’re about to take off!”</p><p>Shadow muttered under his breath and Sonic just laughed. The blue hedgehog turned to see Eggman standing a few yards away, probably regretting his life decisions.</p><p>“Hey, Eggman!” he yelled. “Thanks for saving me back there. Unfortunately for you, it’s not a free pass for me to let you take over the world! Sucks to be you, eggbrains!”</p><p>“What! You little—“</p><p>Sonic howled in laughter as he watched the pathetically egg-shaped man try to chase after them right when the plane jerked forward and started to leave the ground. Even Shadow chuckled to himself as the doctor tripped on a small rock and face-planted onto the cement.</p><p>As Sonic struggled to catch his breath, he leaned against Shadow and looked out over the ocean below.</p><p>“I hope we don’t get blasted off the plane by one of Eggman’s nasty robots and have to almost drown in the ocean,” he joked half-heartedly, trying not to think about the recent events too much</p><p>Shadow sighed, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. “I won’t let that happen. I’ll never let you go.”</p><p>Sonic hummed contently and closed his eyes, allowing the loud yet calm revving of the plane to lull him to sleep.</p><p>For the first time since before dating Amy, everything was okay.</p><p>He was finally happy.</p>
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